|
Reporter: Fukuoka City has many traditional
handicrafts that have been created and passed on from generation
to generation. In this video, we are introducing this....
Do you know how to read this?
Reporter:
Today I'm visiting a workshop where one of Hakata's traditional
handicraft products is created. Ahhh, I can see that they're
right in the middle of production.
Reporter:
So what are you making here?
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: This is a spinning
top, a Hakata folk craft item.
Reporter:
It's taking shape as a top very quickly.
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: The top itself
arrived from China as a toy some 1300 years ago along with
Chinese culture. But the current form with its wooden body
and a metal core was born in Hakata, and acrobatic displays
using spinning tops also began here about 470 years ago.
Narration:
Creating a top requires skilled craftsmanship. Each top
is carefully carved while paying attention to its balance.
Reporter:
Hakata Koma is very popular, both as a toy and as a beautiful
folk art item.
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: You know the famous
phrase, "Yamakasa ga aruken Hakata tai (Without Yamakasa
there would be no Hakata)." Some people say, “Without
Koma (tops) there would be no Hakata.”
Reporter:
They do?
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: Well, I kind of
made it up.
Reporter:
So it's only you that say that!
Reporter:
This is the Hakata Machiya Folk Museum in Hakata ward, Fukuoka
City. Do you hear that? Let's go check it out. Hmmm…, they
seem to be doing something. Excuse me, what are you doing?
Mr.
Yamada: Well I used to be a kid,
you know.
Reporter:
You're quite right.
Narration:
I tried spinning a kenka goma myself. You test your skill
by trying to hit your opponent's top that’s spinning on
the ground.
Reporter:
So you hold it with your hand, and what're you going to
do with that? Oh no.... ! Ahhhhh!
Mr.
Yamada: OK, I'm going to try to hit
your top.
Reporter:
Wait a second. Hey, didn't you hit mine after it stopped?
Reporter:
Wow..., I could get addicted to this. This is fun.
Mr.
Yamada: I wish more people would
take up top spinning.
Reporter:
You're absolutely right.
Narration:
Now let's see some Hakata koma used in acrobatic displays.
The performer is Ms. Shuraku Chikushi who we saw creating
tops earlier. She is a 19th-generation member of Hakata
koma soke (head family), which has a history of 470 years.
Narration:
The basic technique of spinning a top is in its rotation.
It's already spinning with a hum, you can see it's spinning
straight. But if the top starts getting wobbly like this,
you try to make it spin straight again, which requires practice.
Narration:
Now it's straight !
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: It's amazing that
these fighting tops, which were originally a kid's toy,
have evolved into acrobatic tops used to perform such sophisticated
feats.
Reporter:
What is Hakata koma to you?
Ms.
Shuraku Chikushi: Hakata koma is
not just something I'm involved in because of my family
heritage. I feel it's important to maintain a tradition
that was born and nurtured in Hakata. Hakata koma is for
everyone who lives here. I'm just a devoted messenger who
feels responsible to keep it alive
The Hakata Machiya Folk Museum holds periodic demonstrations
of how Hakata koma are colored.
Reporter:
I didn't realize that something I thought was just a children's
toy has such an interesting background. This small top seems
to be packed with history, tradition and people's passion.
|
